The vast majority of the members have spent their entire terms carrying water for the White House political office.

Incumbent Chairman Robert M. Mike Duncan of Kentucky is running a modified first-ballot strategy. If he doesnt win by the second ballot, hes in trouble.

The good news for him is that George W. Bush selected him to be chairman of the RNC, and that gives him the power of incumbency and everything that goes with it; the bad news for him is that George W. Bush selected him to be Chairman of the RNC, and that taint haunts him among those committee members looking for a clean break from the past.

Next: Former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell and former Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele.

Both have run (and won) statewide races; both ran (and lost) high-profile statewide races the last time they were on the ballot; both are African-Americans familiar to GOP activists. Thats where the similarity ends.

Blackwells strongest claim rests on his support from a broad cross-section of leaders of grass roots conservative groups. But pressure from non-members isnt likely to be of much help, and it could actually be counterproductive.

Moreover, Blackwells decision to announce a ticket with Texas GOP Chairman Tina Benkiser  a well-known conservative running for RNC co-chair  may have set a ceiling for him, instead of a floor; he didnt get much with that alliance that he couldnt have gotten on his own, and in doing so, he reinforced his own well-known bona fides as a strong conservative, rather than allying himself with someone who could help reach a segment of the committee that he couldnt reach on his own.

Steele, on the other hand, bases his claim to the chairmanship on the strength of his abilities on television.

A regular FOX News commentator, his face is certainly familiar to conservatives.

Ken Blackwell? Isn't he the guy who stole Ohio for Bush in 2004? I guess the Republicans think that running ANY black man is a good thing, even if he a traitor to democracy.

The vast majority of the members have spent their entire terms carrying water for the White House political office.

Incumbent Chairman Robert M. Mike Duncan of Kentucky is running a modified first-ballot strategy. If he doesnt win by the second ballot, hes in trouble.

The good news for him is that George W. Bush selected him to be chairman of the RNC, and that gives him the power of incumbency and everything that goes with it; the bad news for him is that George W. Bush selected him to be Chairman of the RNC, and that taint haunts him among those committee members looking for a clean break from the past.

Next: Former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell and former Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele.

Both have run (and won) statewide races; both ran (and lost) high-profile statewide races the last time they were on the ballot; both are African-Americans familiar to GOP activists. Thats where the similarity ends.

Blackwells strongest claim rests on his support from a broad cross-section of leaders of grass roots conservative groups. But pressure from non-members isnt likely to be of much help, and it could actually be counterproductive.

Moreover, Blackwells decision to announce a ticket with Texas GOP Chairman Tina Benkiser  a well-known conservative running for RNC co-chair  may have set a ceiling for him, instead of a floor; he didnt get much with that alliance that he couldnt have gotten on his own, and in doing so, he reinforced his own well-known bona fides as a strong conservative, rather than allying himself with someone who could help reach a segment of the committee that he couldnt reach on his own.

Steele, on the other hand, bases his claim to the chairmanship on the strength of his abilities on television.

A regular FOX News commentator, his face is certainly familiar to conservatives.

Ken Blackwell? Isn't he the guy who stole Ohio for Bush in 2004? I guess the Republicans think that running ANY black man is a good thing, even if he a traitor to democracy.

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